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Let me start out by saying that my esteemed fellow
Planet42.com gamer "Sliceboy" must've been smoking some of that bad crack left over from his
college days, when he wrote his quick review of Serious Sam. To quote "Sliceboy" - "Don’t believe
the hype. Serious Sam is a generic FPS, with nothing new or original to add to the genre. Wake me
up when it is over." All I can say is don't believe this anti-hype and maybe "Sliceboy" should
go back to his old man golf games, because he sure as hell doesn't know a good first person shooter
when he sees one (but, keep submitting those golf reviews - we need the content!) (see “Sliceboy’s”
rebuttal below). Serious Sam does pay homage to some of the FPS greats, such as "Doom" and "Duke Nukem",
but it does not rest on the achievements of these games. Simply put... Serious Sam sets the new
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standard for intense, shoot everything that moves FPS action. As Jack Carter (from the highly
underrated "Get Carter") says to his soon to be victims, "We're going to have to take this to the
next level". Serious Sam does just that.
Again, in the tradition (not the cheap copy) of "Doom" and "Duke", there's not a lot of plot.
Serious Sam is sent back in time to save the world, period. That's enough plot for me...
let the fragging begin! And believe me there is plenty of fragging to be had. The amazing
game engine developed by Croteam allows for massive outdoor environments, and literally hundreds
of bizarre enemies to attack you at one time. Some of the attacks are so huge and last for so
long, that your fingers will ache, but somehow you almost take on the role of Sam and you just
don't fucking care. Bring on more headless kamikazes! Bring on more mutant charging bulls!
My rocket launcher might be empty, but I've still got 500 rounds of chaingun ammo and 100 rounds
of double barrel shotgun shells... bring it all on! Oh, wait a second that's not a screaming
kamikaze... my wife is yelling at me for being on the computer too long... back to reality...
"Sorry smooches, I'll be right down."
That's the amazing thing about Serious Sam. It's the first time in a long time that a game of
any genre has sucked me in so deeply. How they can package and sell all this gaming goodness for
a mere $20 is beyond me. As mentioned in my little lapse with the real world, in the above
paragraph, the enemies and the weapons in the game are pretty unique, of course you do have
the standard shotgun, machine gun, rocket launcher fair, but you also have one of the most
brilliant and comical weapons I've ever seen in a game... the alien cannon. This is a hand
held cannon that fires some sort of titanium enhanced cannon ball. The longer you hold the fire
button down the more powerful the velocity of the cannon ball. A full velocity cannon ball
is so powerful that, not only will it take out most of the enemies with one shot, but will frag
one and keep on rolling through everything in it's path! This technique is particularly useful
against my favorite enemy in the game... the mutant bull. Before you can even see them, you
can hear their thunderous stampede coming towards you. These bulls come charging at you as
fast as you can think and your only hope is to quickly strafe out of their way. They'll
then charge past you and quickly turn to charge you again from the other direction. When multiple
bulls are charging you at the same time, there is no greater joy than back pedaling 'til
they're all in a row, holding the fire button down on the cannon and then at the last second
ripping a cannon ball through about 10 - 20 bulls. "Who's your daddy?!"
There's really nothing negative I can say about Serious Sam. Does it have a thought provoking,
Half-Life like story line? No. Does it have graphics that rival quake 3? No, but that's not
why you play this game. You play this game for a sustained adrenaline rush that no other form
of interactive entertainment (well virtual interactive entertainment anyway) can offer.
For a mindlessly intense, in your face, all out fragfest of a game, nothing and I mean nothing
can compare to Serious Sam.
Sliceboy’s rebuttal:
I'm standing by my quick review of Serious Sam. Am I the only sensible Planet42 gamer who knows
Serious Sam is a shameless rip-off of Doom, Duke and Quake? Am I the only one who holds back
the coveted Planet42 "5 planet" rating for a truly great game? I can't name one original feature
of Serious Sam. Un-original game play, story, and weapons earmark this game for the bargain bin.
If mutant bulls are the coolest game feature you point to, then I rest my case. For gamers
interested in more than holding down the "fire" button for 2 hours, I refer to my quick review
of Links 2001.
Gamer42's Rating:
5 out of 5 Planets
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